


And Now It Follows Me Every Day

by TinySpiney



Series: I See You [9]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Android Elijah Kamski, Android Hank Anderson, Gen, Human Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Human CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60 (Detroit: Become Human), Human Original Chloe | RT600, Human Upgraded Connor | RK900, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Mentioned Cole Anderson, Mentioned Elijah Kamski, Mentioned Original Chloe | RT600, Role Reversal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:07:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24150304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinySpiney/pseuds/TinySpiney
Summary: Title is from An Act Of Kindness by Bastille
Relationships: Connor & CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60, Connor & CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60 & Upgraded Connor | RK900, Connor & Gavin Reed, Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900, CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60/Gavin Reed, Hank Anderson & Connor, Hank Anderson & Connor & CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60 & Upgraded Connor | RK900
Series: I See You [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730275
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	And Now It Follows Me Every Day

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from An Act Of Kindness by Bastille

_ October 31st 2039 6:32 PM _

  
  


It wasn’t often that Connor left Hank to his own devices at the house. Not because they didn’t trust each other. No, they trusted each other greatly. But because they just liked to stick around each other. They were friends, they were family. It was nice to hang out and do things together. Though Hank still insisted that Connor went to the small Halloween party at the DPD, despite not wanting to go himself. Besides, he wanted to clean the house. Not that Connor didn’t clean. In fact, it actually entertained Hank with how particular he was about the placement of everything in his bathroom. Hank chuckled to himself at the memory. Of putting things away, and having a slightly disturbed Connor saying that it was wrong before going to fix it how he liked it. Connor was eccentric once everything calmed down and Hank got to see more of him. All of the Andersons were in one way or another. Caleb read his comics almost religiously when he wasn’t at work, ranting to Gavin about what was going on in them while at work. Niles was rather fond of baking, and that became very evident when he was stressed. They were weird in their own wonderful ways. Hank loved his boys. Even if Caleb’s favourite threat seemed to be scooping people’s eyes out with spoons. 

Hank pushed up the sleeves of his grey long sleeve, and then tied his hair up. He could reminisce about the weird things they could get into later. Right now, he wasn’t going to be idle. He was going to clean and it was going to be fun. He threw on his own playlist, Connor titled it  _ SIDE B: Hank _ (while making his  _ SIDE A: Connor Anderson _ ). His own playlist had quite a few songs about robotics and humanity. He thought it reflected him quite well. So with the music playing, he started to get to work. First was the bedroom, because he remembered Connor saying something about Sumo drool stains. Stripping the bed of it’s blanket and sheets and taking off the pillow cases, bundling them up under one of his arms as he looked in the closet for some extra linens. Connor didn’t exactly have a great selection. Though there was a neatly folded set of grey sheets and pillow cases, as well as a dark grey comforter. Hank didn’t think anything of how deep and far away in the closet they were tucked away. He just made a note of it, and threw the sheets and such into the washer in the mostly empty garage. 

Connor finally had gotten rid of the wreckage of the automated car. Hank was proud of him. It was something tying him back to the trauma, something that weighed on his soul. As much as he’d like to stop and reflect on how much Connor had grown in just a year, he had something to do. So Hank continued to clean. He went back into the bedroom and picked up the clothes left on the bottom of the closet. Separating them as Connor seemed to like, and then hung them back up on their hangars. He took the linens from the corner of the closet and made the bed. Then onto the bathroom, and he made sure to keep everything just the way Connor liked it. Since it was such a small room, it didn’t take very long. Well. It sort of did. Sumo busted his way in and started to sniff everything he could, most of which included cleaning chemicals. It took longer than it should have because of the lumbering dog. Though it still wasn’t too bad, considering. 

After the bathroom, came the kitchen and living room. The kitchen was mostly kept in a clean state. Though Connor seemed to get into the habit of letting the dishes sit in the sink before actually washing them. But that was minor. So Hank washed the floor and the sink itself mostly. It was simple enough, he figured. Though the living room  _ was _ a bit in a state of disarray. Books were scattered around, as well as some of Sumo’s toys and a few game cases. Hank quietly sang along to some of the music as he picked everything up. It wasn’t something he was particularly good at, something Gavin loved to snicker about and then show off his own not so great singing. Though Hank knew it wasn’t real. He heard Gavin sing once, just once though. They had a particularly hard case and Caleb was distraught, and Hank could hear Gavin quietly singing to him in the hall down to the evidence room. He sometimes liked to replay the memory from time to time. Just because he thought Gavin’s voice was pretty. Also because it was the only time he had ever heard Caleb sing. After a little while, Caleb had joined in, which likely meant that he was feeling better. Hank liked their voices together, they blended into each other and made such a lovely sound. 

The front door opened, and in the doorway was Connor waving to someone. Presumably to Gavin and Caleb, if the shout of “Happy Spookmas” was anything to go off of. Once Connor turned around, he stopped. He looked around the living room and then to Hank. 

  
  


“You’re cleaning?” Connor took his coat and shoes off, patting Sumo as he walked further into the room. “You didn’t have to, Pop.”

“Parties aren’t exactly my...thing.” Hank smiled and ruffled Connor’s hair. His heart rate spiked briefly. Right, reminded him of Cole. “You know I wasn’t built to be idle. I figured I could keep busy and do something productive.”

  
  


Connor laughed, and suggested they play some older games. He looked through the box of games, selecting  _ Luigi’s Mansion _ and putting it in the Gamecube. Something Hank never understood was the fact that Connor made sounds to the system starting up. But he did like the enthusiastic noise Connor made to the cube dropping into place. It was silly and something he probably did with Cole, it made Hank’s wires warm at the thought. Hank watched Connor play the game for the most part, playing himself when he was passed the controller. 

They played the game for a bit. Well, it was more of around three hours. But actually playing the game would require them to do things that would further the plot. They mosty joked around and did stupid stuff, really. Eventually Hank started hounding him about going to bed, they had work tomorrow anyway. Besides, Hank could keep cleaning well into the night if he got bored enough. They told each other goodnight, and Hank went through the door at the end of the hall to put the linens in the dryer. He hummed along to whatever song was playing in his head. He wasn’t paying much attention to the songs as they played. He could grab them tomorrow morning and put them in Connor’s closet. 

As he made his way back to the living room, Hank saw Connor standing just inside of his room. He was completely still, just...staring forward. Hank didn’t want to startle him. Connor seemed like he was deep in thought. But that...didn’t explain why it looked like he was holding his breath. He stood, unmoving, and he just  _ stared. _ Hank followed his line of sight to the bed. Why the bed? He stepped closer to Connor, making sure to keep a bit of distance just in case it was something bad. Just in case Connor wanted space. Though that wasn’t to say that it didn’t concern Hank. He had never seen Connor like this before, it was completely new territory. He wasn’t like this at the park, at Stratford Tower, not Chloe Kamski’s house, not even in CyberLife Tower. This was completely new. It was worrying. 

  
  


“Connor?” Hank just changed the sheets, put down another comforter. He put the room back just the way Connor left it. “Connor, what’s wrong?”

“I thought--” His voice shook like something bad just happened. Increased heart rate, quick and shallow breathing, shaky hands, increased body temperature. Fear. “Where did you find these sheets?”

“Conn--”

“Where did you fucking find these?!” Connor whipped around, face flushed and tears about to fall. “I thought I got rid of these fucking things! Where did you find them?!”

“The closet. It was the only matching set you had.” Hank took a step back and put his hands up in a non-threatening manner. “I thought it would look nice.”

  
  


No, not fear.  _ Panic. _ Connor was panicking. From...linens? What happened relating to these sheets? Something Hank didn’t want to think about came to the forefront of his mind. It explained why he was afraid of the  _ sheets,  _ and not the bed. But Connor would have-- Well, maybe he wouldn’t say anything about it. Caleb must have known at least. Right? They were incredibly close, they told each other virtually everything. He would have told his brother if something like that happened. At least Hank hoped that he would. But from the looks of his reaction, it wasn’t something someone would just  _ say. _ Whatever happened was something  _ bad. _ Something that had such a horrible memory tied to those linens. 

Hank’s heart broke at the sight of Connor. The way his hands flew up to his head, fingers getting caught in his hair and pulling on it. Pulling, pulling, pulling until Hank was afraid he’d hurt himself. Hank stepped forward to move his hands. But Connor stumbled back. Like he did at the park last year. But this time he  _ was _ afraid. This time he  _ did _ look at Hank like he was something to be feared. And it  _ hurt. _ It hurt to see Connor fall over his own feet, eyes darting behind Hank to the doorway, shaking and crying and begging him to keep Chloe away-- Miss Kamski? Hank knew they had some sort of history, it was obvious from the way he looked at her, how he spoke with her. Though what could she have done? Whatever it was-- The linens. His lack of a reaction to seeing her so exposed in that robe. The way  _ Connor _ was breathing like he was trying not to cry when they left the house.  _ Hank was gonna threaten her something fierce if he ever saw her again. _

  
  


“Don’t  _ want _ this. D-Don-Don’t  _ want _ it.” Connor curled in on himself on the floor, back pressed against the wall under the window. “Didn’t say no, I-I didn’t-- I didn’t push her away, I wanted it. I-I wan-want-wanted-- I wanted it.”

“Connor?” Hank carefully knelt down in front of him, keeping a distance of about two feet from him. “Connor, she’s not here. She’s not going to do anything to you while I’m here.”

“Cole--” Connor rasped. “M’sor-sorry, m’sorry, m’so sorry.”

  
  


He lurched forward, hands grasping at Hank’s shirt and pulling himself toward the android. He spluttered and babbled through the tears, through the sobs that sounded like they  _ hurt. _ Hank didn’t exactly know what to do. Sure he had been with Connor through panic attacks before, he had seen the man at some of his lowest points, but he had never seen him like  _ this _ before. He had half a mind to text Caleb and ask him what to do, hell he could have texted Niles and asked what he could do. This was completely outside of anything he had seen Connor experience. The best Hank could do might not be good enough. Sure, humans weren’t at risk of self-destructing like deviants were when their stress levels got high. But it still scared the hell out of Hank. Right around the holidays, Connor actually got  _ drunk. _ He was scared of alcohol. 

Without having much else of a choice, Hank consulted the internet. He pushed away the less than stellar options. He found some things that would work rather easily though. Hank whistled and called for Sumo, instructing him to half lay across Connor’s lap. Once he was sure that Connor wasn’t going to move, Hank got up and quickly stripped the bed of it’s sheets, taking them out into the garage to toss in one of the garbage bins. Scents, visuals, feelings. Those were strongly tied to memory. The bear, Cole’s bear that he named Hank, his own namesake. For a while he had been set up on top of one of the bookcases, Connor said that would almost be like Cole was watching over them through the bear. Hank reached up on top of the bookcase and pulled the little bear down. There was about a 42% chance that it could cause him to spiral. Hank had to take the chance. 

Connor was leaning over Sumo, one hand working through his fur, and the other pressed against his mouth to quiet himself. Hank knelt down next to Connor, gently taking the bear and placing it in his lap between the human and dog. Connor took the hand on his face and used it to pull the bear to his chest. Hank needed to get him out of the bedroom, he likely didn’t feel safe in there at the moment. He needed somewhere safe, somewhere he trusted he’d be alright. Somewhere with his brothers, ideally. Caleb was likely over at Gavin’s due to the Halloween party earlier that night. Niles’ house was an option. He was on-call tonight because of the amount of teenagers doing what teenagers tended to do. But he wasn’t  _ in _ the hospital. So Hank gently scooped up Connor, unable to fight the pained sound that came out of him when Connor clung to him like a scared child. He was doing a pretty good job of keeping his breathing steady himself though. Hank was proud of him. Hank called for Sumo, and they went out the door. Hank didn’t bother locking the door, frankly it didn’t matter as much as getting Connor somewhere he felt safe. Putting Connor in the car made the 42% jump up to 68% in terms of how likely he was to spiral. But he  _ had _ to get out of the house. It was working him up, it was making his mental state worse. So Hank stuck both the human and the dog in the back seat, and he quickly pulled out of the driveway to drive to Niles’. He texted him on the way there, making sure he was home first. There wasn’t time to call him. It also would have been irresponsible to. 

The ride was tense. Connor mumbling to himself about what Chloe did to him, how he blamed himself for it for not turning her away at first. If there wasn’t the chance Hank would break it, he wanted to grip the steering wheel in his anger. Hank had to keep reminding Connor that he was safe, that she wasn’t there and he was perfectly safe with himself and Sumo by his side. He explained they were going to see Niles, spend the night there at his house. Connor’s chances of spiraling went up to 86%. Hank narrowed his eyes and focused on the road. If he focused too much on what Connor was saying, then there was a good chance he’d break the steering wheel. Besides, Niles texted him back and said he was home. Hank focused on that. Niles was home, he could help Connor. 

Niles was standing outside in jeans and a tee, and he quickly realised something was  _ very _ wrong. They both quickly corralled the dog and still panicking human inside, Hank having to carry Connor again. Because, quite frankly, Hank didn’t trust his legs to be able to hold him. Niles said he would be back before leaving the living room. Hank focused on Connor anyway. He stopped mumbling to himself about what happened. But he was just staring into space again while kneading at the bear. Hank spoke softly to him, reassuring him that she wasn’t there and that he was safe. They were at Niles’ house, even Sumo was brought along, and nothing was going to happen to him. By the time Niles came back, which was nearly ten minutes later, Connor seemed to be coming back around. Niles came back with a lit candle, something strong that honestly made Hank consider turning off his olfactory sensors. Niles sat next to Connor with the candle, smiling and whispering that he drew him a bath, he should go sit in the tub for a bit with the candle. Hank almost objected to it, he didn’t want Connor alone. But Connor nodded and let Niles take him into the bathroom. After a few minutes, Niles came back without the candle, but holding the bear now instead, and with a frown on his face. It was knowing. But also left in the dark. Concerned and yet understanding. Humans were paradoxes wrapped in enigmas. 

  
  


“The last time I saw him like this was  _ four years _ ago. Cole’s funeral. What happened tonight?” Niles sat on the coffee table, facing Hank on the couch. He didn’t think he ever saw Niles look so focused. Well, when he wasn’t trying to beat a level in a Mario game. “Hank. That was a trauma response, you know that. Tell me what happened, I might be able to help more.”

“It’s not something for me to say.” He didn’t want to. That was private, private and traumatic by itself. But apparently it had taken place the day of Cole’s funeral. That just made it worse. “I can’t tell you. But maybe Connor will tell you and Caleb.”

  
  


Niles called Caleb immediately. It didn’t take very long for Caleb to get the message apparently, because Niles hung up soon after. He huffed and said his brother actually hung up on him once he said Connor had a panic attack. There was a tense silence after that. Niles paced the living room so many times that Hank stopped counting. Sumo was curled up at his feet watching the door. It was like he knew that someone was coming over. About a half hour later, with Connor still seemingly in the bath with the candle, there was an urgent knock at the door. Sumo actually barked. Hank had never heard him bark at a knock on the door. Soon the door opened, Caleb must have had a key, and a very frazzled pair of detectives stood on the doorstep. Alright, then, time to check on Connor. 

He was still in the bath. Leaning against the edge of the tub, arms crossed on it and his head resting on them, watching the flame flicker in the glass. Hank slowly came inside the room and knelt down next to him. Which he quickly decided sitting on the ground would be easier on his joints. Less stress on them. He gently called for Connor, and smiled once his eyes moved from the flame. It wasn’t much at all. Hell, it was barely a response. But it was still  _ something _ to let Hank know he was still there, he was listening in the very least. Hank quietly said that Caleb and Gavin were there to see him. To make sure he was alright. Connor nodded and sat up more to blow out the candle before reaching and pulling the drain cover off of the drain. Hank left to give him his privacy as he got dressed. 

In the meantime, Caleb now paced the living room. Gavin was playing with Niles’ fidget cube on the floor, Niles sitting next to him and hugging Sumo around the neck. Hank shuffled his feet and leaned against the wall. None of them liked what was going on. It seemed that only one person aside from Connor himself knew why this was happening. Hank wanted to talk to the others, to tell them it was going to be okay. But that would be a lie. It wasn’t going to be okay. It was going to reopen old wounds that never fully closed. It was going to drive Gavin farther away from his sister. Not that he seemed to care much for her anyway. In fact, he seemed to actively try to keep her out of his life. Hank could only imagine what happened between them. 

The sound of Connor’s bare feet padding against the wooden floor made Hank look down the hall. He was dressed in Batman pajamas that were too big for him, but they looked very soft to the touch. Something comforting to ground him. Something that smelled like his brother. He gave a shaky smile to Hank before standing awkwardly in the doorway. Caleb finally sat down, his leg bouncing and messing with the hem of his shirt. It seemed they all had nervous tics. Connor sighed and went to sit on the floor with Niles and Sumo. Hank followed him. 

  
  


“Guess I really freaked you guys out, huh?” Connor laughed weakly. Even he knew it wasn’t exactly meant for the situation. “Sorry about that. Bad, uhh, bad memories.”

“Connor, that was a trauma response.” Niles turned to him, smoothing back a damp curl. Whether it was from sweat or steam didn’t seem to matter to the brothers. “I haven’t seen you like that since the night-- A-After. That night.”

“The funeral, yeah. I know.” Connor put a hand over Gavin’s. Pulling the detective’s attention to his face. “Guess I should finally tell you guys.” He looked back to Hank and sighed. Instead of continuing right away, he buried his face in Sumo’s fur when the dog moved closer to him. “Chloe, uhh, pulled a  _ Chloe. _ She, uhh, heh, she sorta--”

“Con,” Gavin grabbed his hand and put the fidget cube in it. “What the hell did she do to you?”

  
  


Connor broke down. He practically deflated and dissolved into a puddle of tears and jumbled words. Hank could barely understand him. But he did talk about it a little before clearing his throat. He took a deep breath, apologised to Gavin, and told him his sister took advantage of him. That she did it as some sort of sick experiment to see if he would turn her away, or if Elijah would deviate upon hearing his struggles to get her away from him. Gavin blanched. He looked like he wanted to scream, like he wanted to cry, but he settled for shakily breathing and closing his eyes. His hands gripped his knees and he leaned forward, hanging his head and nodding to let Connor know he was listening. As Connor apologised again and again. As he started to work himself up again so badly that Hank was sure he’d have trouble breathing. 

Quickly, Gavin bolted into the kitchen, and retched into the sink. Caleb was up in an instant. Connor...was horrified. Gavin started yelling about how he was going to fucking arrest her. That was a goddamn crime, and she needed to pay for it. He leaned heavily against the counter and Caleb’s side. His voice was dark. He was angry. But Gavin’s voice wavered still. He gathered himself enough to listen to Connor again, as he said it wasn’t completely her fault. He didn't say no, he didn’t push her away until he realised just how much he hated it. He had accepted it until he pushed her off of him and shouted for her to leave. Hank scooted closer to Connor on the floor. He let Connor lean against him, put an arm around his son’s shoulders and pulled him close. Though out of nowhere, Connor stilled and he laughed. An actual, genuine laugh. One that caught everyone so off-guard that Hank had to run the numbers of how likely it was. Highly unlikely. What the fuck?

  
  


“Con, what the fuck?” Gavin slowly turned around, still leaning against the counter and Caleb. “You just told me my sister  _ used _ you, in basically every sense of the fuckin’ word, and now you’re  _ laughing _ ?”

“Yeah, I am.” Connor grinned at him. “I realised I won’t have to worry about seeing her at your guys’ wedding. Neither will Pop, actually.” He leaned against Hank, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around himself. He mumbled. Though not from the fear, but because he was exhausted. “I’m still gonna walk you down to Gavin, asshole.”

“She wasn’t gonna be there anyway, dipshit.” Gavin came back over and joined their hug, Hank willingly letting Gavin lean against him as well. Niles and Caleb quickly made their way over as well. “I’m not gonna let her anywhere near you guys. Promise.”

  
  


Hank was left in the middle of a pile of his kids. Connor very quickly fell asleep because of how worked up he was. Sumo followed suit, and Hank smiled to himself as the others let go. Niles whispered that he still had his pull-out couch for the boys to sleep in. Caleb and Gavin stood, starting to take the pillows and blanket off of it, taking the cushions off and setting them aside. Hank and Connor were somewhat in front of it, so he scooped his son up as gently as he could before depositing him in Niles’ bed as per the youngest’s request. Niles sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed Connor’s curls back from his forehead. It was kind and gentle. He took the bear from under his arm, and gently put it in Connor’s arms. 

Despite how they got there, Hank was grateful for that evening. Connor told his brothers about what happened. He was proud. Connor knew for a fact that he had a support system now. Did Hank feel awful for accidentally sending him into a panic attack? Absolutely, he was going to regret it for a long time. But something good  _ did _ come out of it still. That didn’t mean he wasn’t still worried. He sat down on the edge of the bed with Niles and watched Connor sleep. 

  
  


“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Hank whispered as Niles changed into pajama bottoms. The kid wasn’t shy when it came to getting changed. He still looked away though, kept his eyes on Connor. He was a bit awkward with that sort of thing. “I know he won’t for a long time. But...relatively speaking?”

“He knows we have his back, now. Well, he knows for sure that we do.” Niles smiled and got into the bed beside Connor, hugging him around his waist. “He’ll be okay some day, Dad. We just have to be patient with him and go at his pace. Healing is a slippery slope, take that from a nurse.”

“I will.” Hank leaned over and gave them both soft kisses on their foreheads. Childish for their ages, but they were his kids. He couldn’t help it sometimes. Besides, Connor could use some comfort like that. “I’m gonna go into stasis in the chair.”

“Living room or in here? It would help Connor if he woke up and saw you.”

“In here, then.” Hank took his shoes off and sat in the chair in the corner of the room. He didn’t even notice it the first time he’d been in there. “G’night boys.”

“Night, Dad.”

  
  
  
  



End file.
